A wandering tourist who sat on a nearby rock asked me if it was ok to smoke in my presence. I had no worries whatsoever. At times when facing stressful moments, I usually puffed one or two. I wasn’t any practiced smoker but from the little experience I had, I found it to be nerve relaxing. The tourist seemed pleased with my answer. He offered me a cigarette.
His hand was already extended towards me when a loud bang emanated from somewhere inside the cavern. The cigarette dropped right before me as the man sprang to his feet. A successive bang sounded closer to where I sat. They were obvious gunshots. There had never been a shooting incident at Shirley Heights in the past. A third gunshot was fired. A stampede of revelers dashed for cover in our direction. In the centre of them, the man I recognized as a local fisherman came charging towards me.
He was holding a brown envelope. A man in black was quickly approaching with a pistol dangling from left to right in front of him as he chased the fisherman.
The tourist who moments earlier offered me a smoke turned and disappeared into the stampede.
The large figure bumped into me knocking me completely off the rock.
‘Reveal to no one and trust no one!!!’ his voice faded with the wind as he raced into the darkness. The man in black passed me by as quickly as the fisherman. The gun was still firmly clutched in one of his hands. Reveal to no one…trust no one…those words meant nothing to me. I got off the ground and began to brush fragments of grass off my shirt when I made out the brown envelope the fisherman was holding in his hand. It was then his words became clear to me.
Thirty Four ……………
The Shadow brushed past scuttling revelers. The target was moving quickly ahead of him. He was outright upset with himself for not making the kill when he had the perfect opportunity. The big bastard was much quicker than he thought. Just as he was about to offload another shot, the target stumbled into a man who sat on one of the rocks outside the cavern. The collision had thrown both men off balance but the target was quickly up and running again. The Shadow pressed on. He caught a faint glimpse of the man whom the fisherman collided with. He was the owner of a popular restaurant at Jolly Harbour.
The target took a left turn away from the frantic crowd and deeper into the darkness. The excess mass of flesh he carried on his upper body began to exert pressure on his legs just as The Shadow anticipated. He grew slower as the chase perpetuated. They were now well into the silent darkness. The music at Shirley Heights resumed but was hardly audible. The target reached a dead end on a jagged edged cliff. There was nowhere else left to run. He became cornered like a caged animal and his desperation immediately began to grow out of control. He slowly spun around to face his pursuer. The Shadow raised his weapon. He had just one question to ask before making the kill. I am The Shadow. I am invincible. No one sees my face and survives; his bloodthirsty demons ignited the fury within him.
Without warning, the obscured target launched forward knocking him over. His weapon went flying into the darkness. The Shadow didn’t see that coming. The target discharged two quick blows that landed on his chest like rocket launchers. He didn’t see those coming either. The Shadow raised both arms over his face to defend more incoming punches.
The powerful onslaught from the target crushed through the shield and connected hard with his face. The target was strong, heavy, and packed with rage. He raised his fist to unleash another deadly blow but the Shadow saw it coming this time. He shifted just in time and fired a quick jab to the target’s throat that instantaneously cut the living breath out of him.
The Shadow stood his ground before the target. The target was still on one knee and catching his balance when The Shadow’s boot slammed into his face.
The impact propelled him backwards. He staggered and fell to his bottom but thrust a forceful kick that swept The Shadow completely off his feet. The target got to his feet and began charging forward again. The Shadow’s hand touched cold metal.
His instinct immediately kicked in. A loud click invaded the silent darkness as he engaged the weapon. The target froze in his tracks. He shifted gears backwards. The Shadow squeezed darkness with a boisterous explosion. The large target disappeared of the edge of the cliff. The Shadow got to his feet and in a distant echo, the words of the target came back to him. Trust no one!!! He’d mention those words as he fled past the restaurant owner. Flashes of something that resembled a loose brown envelope close to where the businessman was knocked down circulated The Shadow.
Without more ado, he jolted into action. As one target disappeared, a new one came into full focus. Life had always been that way for him.
As he brushed past loose shrubs in the darkness, The Shadow remembered a towering figure in the military that had fought many battles and lived to share his life changing experience with him and other soldiers.
‘Life is like a game of poker.’ the veteran’s lecture served as a means of inspiration to young and upcoming soldiers. ‘ You are dealt five cards and you play whether you like it or not. Some of you were born to a packed hand to start with while others received not even a pair. There is no point in complaining or grudging, for it is not how you begin that
and began stepping the trigger filling the determines the game but how you end. Just pick up your cards, have a clear vision of the strategy you ought to employ as you play and plan as you go along. Somewhere along the way, some of you will take a chance at bluffing and will stake everything you got and the truth is…sometimes it wins the pot.’
The revelation that bluffing often wins the pot brought about an uproarious hoot among soldiers in the camp. It was like the army was preparing a bunch of potential crooks and criminals instead disciplined soldiers.
‘ Some of you will break up openers to draw for a middle straight,’ the veteran had continued when the hilarious uproar subsided, ‘but you know what chance you’ll be taking and may learn your mistakes when it's too late.’ Every face in the room hardened.
‘ Some of you won’t help playing crooked against all good advice,’ the uncivilized hoot among soldiers resurfaced, ‘but you will seldom get away with it and in the end you will regrettably pay the price.’
Every face in the room straightened up again except for the veteran who bared an awkward little smirk at both corners of his mouth.
‘ Most of you, however, will play straight poker with both hands open for a long time waiting to draw the winning card but that is a long, honest and very hard way to win the game.’ Since The Shadow’s acquitted the army, his lifestyle surrounded all but playing straight. People like the popular businessman played straight poker. He lived a family life, ran a successful business and was by no means connected to any criminal circles. The Shadow had patronized his restaurant numerous times and went unnoticed by tourists and the local natives who worked there.
The businessman had a rather winsome personality and was well-liked by those who already knew him or came in touch with him for the first time. It was unfortunate he’d been handed a document that could bring closure to The Shadow’s mission. Being in possession of the document caused his automatic involvement and now he too was going to pay the price. The Shadow quickened his strides as he headed back towards the action that had restarted a few minutes earlier.
Thirty Five ……………
Isat dumbfounded,
transpired. Despite a
still not comprehending what just few trivial scuffles among drunken tourists, there had never been any shooting incidents at Shirley Heights in the past.
I held up the enveloped the fisherman had thrown in my possession while being desperately chased. Whatever he had done must have really pissed off his attacker. Most of the deranged foreigners were returning to the dancing ground. Their faces revealed mixed emotions.
I took my position on the bare rock again and proceeded to open the envelope. I found it rather strange that Kaila and Marielli hadn’t made it to the heights yet. There was a sudden distraction by the loud trashing of dry l
eaves from a fast incoming object. I quickly spun around only to discover the man in black. He was headed towards me full throttle. Neither the fisherman nor tourists were in sight; just a fast moving figure camouflaged by the darkness. He was carrying a shiny piece of metal. Reveal to no one…trust no one; I instantly remembered those words. An inner voice slapped me with a wave of reality. Run, run, run for your life.Atthat point, fear owned me. I was up and running in a flash. The dark figure was moving fast. A part of me still doubted whether he was after me for I’d done nothing wrong but I began running out of control.
I found myself following a trail adjacent to the dance grounds that was separated by trees and rocks. I ended up on a serrated ridge that hung high over the shoreline. There wasn’t anywhere left to run. The naked rocks and sparse trees offered no hiding place.
Footsteps were approaching rapidly. My heart began racing out of control. He was indeed after me.
A dark shadow loomed from behind the trees followed by a man dressed fully in black. He pointed a gun at me. A million different thoughts occupied my mind. I hadn’t seen my family for a last time.
The hideous shadow formed by the unforgiving darkness hid the man’s face. He reloaded his weapon’s chamber. The sound it made was cold and menacing. One of my favorite reggae songs was being mimicked by the band on the other side of the trees. It offered little comfort. I catapulted both my hands upwards and shut my eyelids. Death was about to visit me in the most uncanny way.
Almost like a mysterious sign sent upon the earth to warn all ungodly men of the things to come, the ground beneath us began to quiver out of control.
The man in black held a steadfast grip on the gun. The shuddering intensified. It wasn’t any sign from God. It was a nightmare; an earthquake that came from out of nowhere and was reaping apart the ground beneath us.
The screams emanating from the other side of the trees were enough to reveal the pandemonium that struck the crowd of revelers. The man in black had ample time to waste me but for unknown reasons he wasn’t pulling the trigger. He just held onto the gun in my direction. I took my focus off him then turned to face the ocean and that was when we both saw it.
Constellation of stars glittered against the darkened sky. The vaguely lit ocean retreated at an abnormally low tide. Stretches of seabed were being drained rapidly exposing the keels of anchored yachts and nearby fishing boats.
A dim glow from the vague heavenly bodies stretched across the ocean’s basin. It formed an unnatural crystal luminescence resulting from the asphyxiating fishes that tap-danced on the undulating ocean’s bed. We both lost footing as we staggered forward unhinged revelers hurriedly made trees. They hadn’t the slightest clue where they were headed. The man in black lowered his gun. He retreated to a point of disappearance into the ugly shadows of the nearby trees. and backward. A few their way through the
The earthquake came to a sudden standstill. The ocean continued to withdraw at a more rapid pace. I wasn’t any expert on natural disasters years spent around Kaila had taught me one or two things about Tsunamis. The island was about to be under attack from such a monstrosity. I regained traction and began chasing in the direction where the man in black disappeared.
Shirley Height sat on fairly high grounds but I needed to get to higher grounds still.
Visions of Kaila and Marielli bombarded me as I made my way through trees and rocks. Nothing would have killed me more than to discover they were in dire danger. There was no way the man in black was through with me. He could be anywhere outside the gates of Shirley Heights. What was supposedly a planned family get together on the scenic touristic mountain in Antigua was turning out to be a double disaster.
Thirty Six ……………
Awell known pastor sat comfortably alongside one of his covert mistresses that served as the choir leader at his church.
Koconut Breeze had always been one of his favorite restaurants to dine.
It was nestled in nature’s best vista, patronized mainly by tourists, and was sheltered from inquisitive locals. It wasn’t much longer after a scrumptious dinner that the entire building began to quiver out of control and it didn’t seem to die down.
The pastor had never witnessed people vacate an area so quickly. Every restaurant staff and foreigner was up and away. It was when the pastor turned towards the ocean, it occurred to him they were running more out of fear of what was about to happen than the earthquake itself.
The sea began racing backwards, into the depth of the ocean at a relatively quick pace. When he turned back towards the restaurant, the choir leader was gone too. He dropped to his knee and whispered a quick prayer.
‘Lord, please forgive me for my sins and as an act of atonement, I’m offering my body as a vessel to save any worthy soul.’
The adulterous preacher man got to his feet and hurried towards the parking but the monstrous wave had already gathered and was headed full throttle towards land.
Thirty Seven ……………
Marielli snuffled incessantly as the jeep took a careful uturn towards English Harbour’s mariner. Her mom wasn’t responding to any of her recurring questions.
Kaila sat dumbstruck with her hands tightly clutched onto the steering wheel.
The terror was happening all over again. Just a few years earlier, she had found herself in the heart of a chain of terrible disasters on a neighboring island. Her family had taken a conscious decision to move to this island to bury all memories of the catastrophe and here she was in the middle of it again.
Kaila’s had begun her day in uninterrupted ecstasy. She had shared an early morning session of unparalleled sex with her lover. They were set to spend the rest of the day at the restaurant when an urgent phone call changed everything. Just before leaving the office Kaila stumbled upon a piece of document that gave her the premonition of an impending disaster. She’d ignored it altogether and had proceeded to catch up with whatever time that was left to spend with her lover and daughter but it seemed her day was set for terror. She’d almost caused complete wreckage on the highway when a bee entered the jeep. She’d pulled herself together quite well when minutes later one of her tires blew up into shreds causing her to lose control and almost plunging into a nearby pond.
An obliging acquaintance had pulled over and helped to replace the ripped tire with the spare.
Kaila had taken the wheel again and was approaching a notable roundabout along English Harbour when all of a sudden the road began meandering beneath the jeep. Her worst nightmare revisited her. Marielli began a turbulent scream that added to her terror.
The amplifying quake lasted for a while before coming to a halt.
Kaila immediately reignited the jeep and hurried out of the area. A long stretch of promenade that bordered the marina came into full view as she reached the end of the u-turn. There was a significant wrongness about the marina. Conglomerations of yachts sat on bare sand. The sea water vanished into the depth of the ocean. Kaila’s horror catapulted to new heights. Marielli
questions. Kaila heard none of her
bombarded her with questions. Her mind
circulated far more dreadful thoughts. An ominous roar emanated from a blurry distance. It was the creepy sound of fast approaching water. Kaila pressed hard into the Jeep’s accelerator. resurfaced. mariner where water once accompanied the barren jetties but she was too late. Long before she saw it, the monstrous wave made landfall.
It slammed into the jeep sending it spiraling among other incoming debris.
The engine roared to life. Marielli’s screams Kaila tightened her grip. She peered at the
Thirty Eight ……………
Inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison roared out of extreme panic as water bubbled into the overcrowded cells. They hadn’t the slightest clue what had hit them but every cell was being filled by incoming water.
A senior warden stood in the corridor in a half trance. A scar faced prisoner was yelling at the top of his voice out of sheer desperation.
His outburst was more of a fearful plea to save his own life than his hatred for the warden.
‘Please get me out here!!! I know I’ve done many wrongs in my life but no one deserves to die like this!’ his eyes revealed genuine fright. The Prisoner’s desperate request made immediate connection with the warden who in turn matched forward. He began searching through a bunch of keys. The sound of approaching keys immediately prompted a wild uproar among other prisoners. The warden found the correct key. It fitted perfectly in the cell’s keyhole. The scar faced prisoner looked on in wild desperation.
Achorus of“YEAH” by inmates trailed a loud click that emanated from the unlocking of the cell. The unkempt iron dungeon strained against fast arising water.
‘Thank you!’ the scar faced prisoner cruised past the warden.
Without warning, he caught the warden’s neck between his powerful arms and broke it a second later. The scar faced prisoner handed the bunch of keys to another free inmate and signaled him to free the others just before he fled the jail that had housed him for countless years.
Thirty Nine ……………
An ominous silence hung over the mountains of Shirley Heights. The night was still young and the stars stood still against the dark night sky.
The entertainment area that was alive and kicking earlier died and emptied in an instant. Somewhere just below a nearby cliff, an extraordinarily tall coconut trees knotted into a few others forming a natural canopy. They stood tall above the shoreline and were unstirred.
Baptist awoke from his unconsciousness. He wasn’t quite certain where he was. His entire surrounding was dark and his head ached from the earlier fall. Baptist made a faint attempt to stand but lost footing. There wasn’t any ground beneath him. His senses immediately kicked in.
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